Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 330
Lectionary: 330
Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,
he said, “LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart.
“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.”
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,
he said, “LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart.
“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 84:3, 4, 5 AND 10, 11
R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty
God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Gospel MK 7:1-13
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”
Meditation: "Rejecting
the commandments of God"
What makes a person unclean or unfit to offer God acceptable
worship? The Jews went to great pains to ensure that their worship would
conform to the instructions which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. God's call
to his people was a call to holiness: "be holy, for I am holy"
(Leviticus 11:44; 19:2). In their zeal for holiness many elders developed
elaborate traditions which became a burden for the people to carry out in their
everyday lives. The Scribes and Pharisees were upset with Jesus because he
allowed his disciples to break with their ritual traditions by eating with
unclean hands. They sent a delegation all the way from Jerusalem to Galilee to
bring their accusation in a face-to-face confrontation with Jesus. Jesus dealt
with their accusation by going to the heart of the matter – by looking at God's
intention and purpose for the commandments. Jesus gave an example of how their
use of ritual tradition excused them from fulfilling the commandment to honor
one's father and mother. If someone wanted to avoid the duty of financially
providing for their parents in old age or sickness they could say that their
money or goods were an offering "given over to God" and thus exempt
from any claim of charity or duty to help others. They broke God's law to
fulfull a law of their own making. Jesus explained that they void God's command
because they allowed their hearts and minds to be clouded by their own notions
of religion.
Jesus accused them specifically of two things. First of
hypocrisy. Like actors, who put on a show, they appear to obey God's word in
their external practices while they inwardly harbor evil desires and
intentions. Secondly, he accused them of abandoning God's word by substituting
their own arguments and ingenious interpretations for what God requires. They listened
to clever arguments rather than to God's word. Jesus refers them to the
prophecy of Isaiah (29:31) where the prophet accuses the people of his day for
honoring God with their lips while their hearts went astray because of
disobedience to God's laws.
If we listen to God's word with faith and reverence, it will
both enlighten our mind and purify our heart – thus enabling us to better
understand how he wants us to love and obey him. The Lord invites us to draw
near to him and to feast at his banquet table. Do you approach with a clean
heart and mind? Ask the Lord to cleanse and renew you with the purifying fire
of his Holy Spirit.
"Lord Jesus, let the fire of your Holy Spirit cleanse my
mind and my heart that I may love you purely and serve you worthily."
 True Worship |
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Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time
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Mark 7:1-13
Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from
Jerusalem gathered around him, they observed that some of his disciples ate
their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. [For the Pharisees and,
in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping
the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not
eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they
have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles
(and beds).] So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your
disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with
unclean hands?" He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you
hypocrites, as it is written: ´This people honors me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as
doctrines human precepts.´ You disregard God´s commandment but cling to human
tradition." He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the
commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, ´Honor
your father and your mother,´ and ´Whoever curses father or mother shall
die.´ Yet you say, ´If a person says to father or mother, "Any support
you might have had from me is qorban"´ (meaning, dedicated to God), you
allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word
of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many
such things."
Introductory Prayer:Lord,
thank you for your Gospel and for all the truth it teaches me. Thank you for
warning me of attitudes and dispositions that could become temptations for
me. I love you for your goodness and mercy, and I entrust myself into your
loving hands.
Petition: Lord,
help me to serve you sincerely, in truth and in love.
1. “This people honors me only with lip
service, while their hearts are far from me.” Jesus
calls his disciples to authenticity. Too often so-called disciples give the
impression of following him, while at the same time accepting sensual loves
and lusts in their heart. Although the Pharisees display the outward
trappings of holiness, the way they treat Jesus and others betrays their true
character. Jesus would call them “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 15:27): clean
and bright on the outside, but full of dead men’s bones within.
Self-righteousness would be their downfall. Such dispositions may lend the
proud man certain short-term security, but it will always be illusory since
it is not rooted in the truth. Is there any way in which I also pay tribute
to God with my lips but say something else in my heart, or behave
contrariwise in my actions?
2. “The worship they offer me is worthless.” True
worship begins with humility, when the soul recognizes that it possesses no
good in and of itself, but that all of its goodness comes from God. The
Pharisees offered no real worship to God since, in effect, they worshipped
only themselves by relying more on their talents and goodness than on the
goodness that comes from God. It is not insignificant that when Jesus
describes a Pharisee’s prayer in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax
collector, he says “The Pharisee prayed this prayerto himself” (Luke
18:11). How can I make sure that my prayer is truly devoted, meaning
that I am addressing Our Lord with the words of my heart?
3. "You make God’s word null and void.” The
Pharisees used the talents and gifts God had given them not for God’s glory,
but for their own personal gain, whether that gain consisted of praise and
admiration or personal comfort and ease. True worship of God, truly placing
God above all else, involves using the things God created as means to
reaching him. As number 226 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states,
“It means making good use of created things: faith in God, the only One,
leads us to use everything that is not God only insofar as it brings us
closer to him, and to detach ourselves from it insofar as it turns us away
from him:
My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you. My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you. My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.”
Conversation with Christ: Lord,
thank you for my life and all the good things you have given me. Help me to
realize that you have created everything and that all I have is from you. May
I use all I have to serve others and as a means to come closer to you, the
source of all good.
Resolution: I will
examine my conscience to see if I am using any of my gifts and talents to
glorify or serve only myself. If so, I’ll strive to put these same gifts at
the service of God.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11,
MARK 7:1-13
(1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30; Psalm 84)
(1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30; Psalm 84)
KEY VERSE: "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!" (v 9).
READING: The self-righteous Pharisaical religious leaders had developed elaborate rituals to set themselves apart from the "unclean" Gentiles. When Jesus and his disciples were criticized for failing to perform the customary market and kitchen purification rites, he berated the leaders for their hypocrisy. In their slavish obedience to these doctrines, they neglected the heart and purpose of God's law which was charity and justice (Is 29:13). Practices of external cleansing were useless if one's heart was impure. Dedicating one's property to God (Hebrew, qorban) in order to avoid supporting needy parents violated God's commandment to honor one's parents. Jesus said that the people nullified God's law in favor of interpretations that suited their own selfish concerns.
REFLECTING: Am I the same person at home as I am in church?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to examine my motives for all my religious practices.
Optional Memorial to Our Lady of Lourdes
In in 1858, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a poor, young girl in the grotto of Masabielle, close to Lourdes in France. Our Lady asked for a chapel to be built on the site of the apparitions and when Bernadette asked who she was, she replied: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Our Lady asked Bernadette to wash her face at the fountain but there was no fountain there, so Bernadette dug a hole in the ground, and washed her face with muddy water. People ridiculed her, but there sprung up the famous fountain of water that has healing attributes. Many sick people have bathed themselves in that water and there have been at least 64 reported miraculous healings. Millions of people from all over the world go to Lourdes yearly in the hope of obtaining help from the Mother of God. Bernadette became a nun. She died when she was 35 and her body is still incorrupt.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Christian Justice
Christian justice means consistently and
actively working to see that individuals and groups—especially vulnerable
population on the margins—are given what they are owed. It will be especially
skeptical of practices which promote violence, consumerism, and autonomy.
— from For Love of Animals
— from For Love of Animals
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God
Listen to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, O God.It is so easy to become very tired and dispirited, depressed and discouraged, when prayer, no matter how earnestly offered, seems to remain unanswered. Yet, Lord, faith tells us that you are there in the darkness, and that you call us to trust as never before. Yes, to sit beside you in silence, and allow our loneliness to be, can unite us with you in ways we could never have imagined. Seeing and not seeing, hearing and not hearing, touching and not touching, are not contradictions, but the opportunity of responding more freely to your deep and unconditional love. Lord, may I find in you the fulfilment of my deepest yearnings and desires. Teach me to overcome the fears of my own wounds and to trust completely.
Tuesday,
February 11, 2014
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the
Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus.
A little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady
appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the
apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the
Immaculate Conception.”
Bernadette
was a sickly child of poor parents. Their practice of the Catholic faith was
scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette could pray the Our Father, the Hail
Mary and the Creed. She also knew the prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary
conceived without sin.”
During
interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something
white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero, a dialect
term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her
arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil.
There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette was
also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form of
address (tu), but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin
appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity.
Through
that humble girl, Mary revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of
millions of people. People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France
and from all over the world. In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the
authenticity of the apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes
for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.
Comment:
Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters. There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film The Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”
Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters. There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film The Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”
Quote:
“Lo! Mary is exempt from stain of sin, Proclaims the Pontiff high; And earth applauding celebrates with joy Her triumph, far and high. Unto a lowly timid maid she shows Her form in beauty fair, And the Immaculate Conception truth Her sacred lips declare.” (Unattributed hymn from the Roman Breviary)
“Lo! Mary is exempt from stain of sin, Proclaims the Pontiff high; And earth applauding celebrates with joy Her triumph, far and high. Unto a lowly timid maid she shows Her form in beauty fair, And the Immaculate Conception truth Her sacred lips declare.” (Unattributed hymn from the Roman Breviary)
Patron Saint of:
Bodily ills
Bodily ills
LECTIO DIVINA:
MARK 7,1-13
Lectio:
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
1) Opening prayer
Father,
watch over your family
and keep us safe in your care,
for all our hope is in you.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel reading - Mark 7,1-13
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, keep the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them to keep, concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So the Pharisees and scribes asked him, 'Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?'
He answered, 'How rightly Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites in the passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. Their reverence of me is worthless; the lessons they teach are nothing but human commandments. You put aside the commandment of God to observe human traditions.' And he said to them, 'How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Honour your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, "If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Korban (that is, dedicated to God)," then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother. In this way you make God's word ineffective for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.'
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today speaks about the religious traditions of that time and of the Pharisees who taught this tradition to the people. For example, to eat without washing the hands, as they said, to eat with impure hands. Many of these traditions were separated from life and had lost their significance. But even if this was the state of things, these were traditions kept and taught, either because of fear or because of superstition. The Gospel presents some instructions of Jesus concerning these traditions.
• Mark 7, 1-2: Control of the Pharisees and liberty of the disciples. The Pharisees and some Scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, observed how the disciples of Jesus ate the bread with impure hands. Here there are three points which deserve to be made evident: a) The Scribes were from Jerusalem, from the capital city! This means that they had come to observe and to control what Jesus did. b) The disciples do not wash the hands before eating! This means that being with Jesus impels them to have the courage to transgress the norms which tradition imposed on the people, but that no longer had any sense, any meaning for life. c) The fact of washing the hands, which up until now continues to be an important norm of hygiene, had assumed for them a religious significance which served to control and discriminate persons.
• Mark 7, 3-4: The Tradition of the Ancients. “The Tradition of the Ancients” transmitted norms which had to be observed by the people in order to have the purity asked by the Law. The observance of the law was a very serious aspect for the people of that time. They thought that an impure person could not receive the blessings promised by God to Abraham. The norms on purity were taught in order to open the way to God, source of peace. In reality, instead of being a source of peace, the norms constituted a prison, slavery. For the poor, it was practically impossible to observe the hundreds of norms, of traditions and of laws. For this reason they were considered ignorant and damned persons who did not know the law (Jn 7, 49).
• Mark 7, 5: The Scribes and the Pharisees criticize the behaviour of the disciples of Jesus. The Scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus: Why do your disciples not behave according to the tradition of the Ancients and eat the bread with impure hands? They think that they are interested in knowing the reason for the behaviour of the disciples. In reality, they criticize Jesus because he allows the disciples to transgress the norms of purity. The Pharisees formed a type of confraternity, the principal concern of which was to observe all the laws of purity. The Scribes were responsible for the doctrine. They taught the laws relative to the observance of purity.
• Mark 7, 6-13 Jesus criticizes the incoherence of the Pharisees. Jesus answers quoting Isaiah: This people approaches me only in words, honours me only with lip service, while their hearts are far from me (cf. Is 29, 13). Insisting on the norms of purity, the Pharisees emptied the content of the commandments of God’s Law. Jesus quotes a concrete example. They said: the person, who offers his goods to the Temple, cannot use these goods to help those in greater need. Thus, in the name of tradition they emptied the fourth commandment from its content, which commands to love father and mother. These persons seem to be very observant, but they are so only externally. In their heart, they remain far away from God; as the hymn says: “His name is Jesus Christ and is hungry, and lives out on the sidewalk. And people when they pass by, sometimes do not stop, because they are afraid to arrive late to church!” At the time of Jesus, people, in their wisdom, were not in agreement with everything they were taught. They were hoping that one day the Messiah would come to indicate another way to attain purity. In Jesus this hope becomes a reality.
4) Personal questions
• Do you know any religious tradition today which does not have too much sense, but which continues to be taught?
• The Pharisees were practicing Jews, but their faith was divided, separated from the life of the people. This is why Jesus criticizes them. And today, would Jesus criticize us? In what things?
5) Concluding prayer
Our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the world!
I look up at your heavens, shaped by your fingers,
at the moon and the stars you set firm-
what are human beings that you spare a thought for them,
or the child of Adam that you care for him? (Ps 8,1.3-4)
Father,
watch over your family
and keep us safe in your care,
for all our hope is in you.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel reading - Mark 7,1-13
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, keep the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them to keep, concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So the Pharisees and scribes asked him, 'Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?'
He answered, 'How rightly Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites in the passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. Their reverence of me is worthless; the lessons they teach are nothing but human commandments. You put aside the commandment of God to observe human traditions.' And he said to them, 'How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Honour your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, "If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Korban (that is, dedicated to God)," then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother. In this way you make God's word ineffective for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.'
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today speaks about the religious traditions of that time and of the Pharisees who taught this tradition to the people. For example, to eat without washing the hands, as they said, to eat with impure hands. Many of these traditions were separated from life and had lost their significance. But even if this was the state of things, these were traditions kept and taught, either because of fear or because of superstition. The Gospel presents some instructions of Jesus concerning these traditions.
• Mark 7, 1-2: Control of the Pharisees and liberty of the disciples. The Pharisees and some Scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, observed how the disciples of Jesus ate the bread with impure hands. Here there are three points which deserve to be made evident: a) The Scribes were from Jerusalem, from the capital city! This means that they had come to observe and to control what Jesus did. b) The disciples do not wash the hands before eating! This means that being with Jesus impels them to have the courage to transgress the norms which tradition imposed on the people, but that no longer had any sense, any meaning for life. c) The fact of washing the hands, which up until now continues to be an important norm of hygiene, had assumed for them a religious significance which served to control and discriminate persons.
• Mark 7, 3-4: The Tradition of the Ancients. “The Tradition of the Ancients” transmitted norms which had to be observed by the people in order to have the purity asked by the Law. The observance of the law was a very serious aspect for the people of that time. They thought that an impure person could not receive the blessings promised by God to Abraham. The norms on purity were taught in order to open the way to God, source of peace. In reality, instead of being a source of peace, the norms constituted a prison, slavery. For the poor, it was practically impossible to observe the hundreds of norms, of traditions and of laws. For this reason they were considered ignorant and damned persons who did not know the law (Jn 7, 49).
• Mark 7, 5: The Scribes and the Pharisees criticize the behaviour of the disciples of Jesus. The Scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus: Why do your disciples not behave according to the tradition of the Ancients and eat the bread with impure hands? They think that they are interested in knowing the reason for the behaviour of the disciples. In reality, they criticize Jesus because he allows the disciples to transgress the norms of purity. The Pharisees formed a type of confraternity, the principal concern of which was to observe all the laws of purity. The Scribes were responsible for the doctrine. They taught the laws relative to the observance of purity.
• Mark 7, 6-13 Jesus criticizes the incoherence of the Pharisees. Jesus answers quoting Isaiah: This people approaches me only in words, honours me only with lip service, while their hearts are far from me (cf. Is 29, 13). Insisting on the norms of purity, the Pharisees emptied the content of the commandments of God’s Law. Jesus quotes a concrete example. They said: the person, who offers his goods to the Temple, cannot use these goods to help those in greater need. Thus, in the name of tradition they emptied the fourth commandment from its content, which commands to love father and mother. These persons seem to be very observant, but they are so only externally. In their heart, they remain far away from God; as the hymn says: “His name is Jesus Christ and is hungry, and lives out on the sidewalk. And people when they pass by, sometimes do not stop, because they are afraid to arrive late to church!” At the time of Jesus, people, in their wisdom, were not in agreement with everything they were taught. They were hoping that one day the Messiah would come to indicate another way to attain purity. In Jesus this hope becomes a reality.
4) Personal questions
• Do you know any religious tradition today which does not have too much sense, but which continues to be taught?
• The Pharisees were practicing Jews, but their faith was divided, separated from the life of the people. This is why Jesus criticizes them. And today, would Jesus criticize us? In what things?
5) Concluding prayer
Our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the world!
I look up at your heavens, shaped by your fingers,
at the moon and the stars you set firm-
what are human beings that you spare a thought for them,
or the child of Adam that you care for him? (Ps 8,1.3-4)
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